


My T-Shirt

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22404898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Alex has a thing for his boyfriend's clothes.5 times Alex stole Michael's clothes and lied about it +1 time he told the truth
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 13
Kudos: 196
Collections: RNM Fanfic Remix 2020, Roswell_Favorites





	My T-Shirt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [caitlesshea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitlesshea/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The way you wore.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19184782) by [caitlesshea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitlesshea/pseuds/caitlesshea). 



> a remix of the wonderful Caitlesshea's fic The Way You Wore

1.

Contrary to popular belief, Michael could be subtle. He stole Alex’s clothes all of the time but Alex could never prove it. His clothes always disappeared when he was moving or when there were other people around to blame and Michael never wore them when Alex was around.

Alex, on the other hand, was anything but subtle. One might even call him shameless.

“Is that my shirt?” Michael’s voice was still groggy from sleep.

“No,” Alex lied blatantly, not even bothering to look down at the UFO Emporium logo on his chest. He’d given it to Michael after he’d quit his job there and he knew for a fact that the other boy slept in it all of the time. Except last night when neither one of them had bothered with a shirt at all. 

“Looks like my shirt,” Michael commented as he shifted in the bed. Alex glanced over to see him with his head hanging half off the bed in order to get a good look at where Alex stood in the tiny kitchen. 

“You need your eyes checked,” Alex remarked idly as he reached into the overhead cabinet for the granola bars he’d stashed there during his last visit. Michael let out a strangled groan as the shirt rode up.

“That’s just cheating.” Alex hummed, thankful Michael couldn’t see his face and so he didn’t have to hide his grin. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to even if he tried. “Come back here.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Eat later. Come here.” Out of the corner of his eye Alex saw Michael’s hand outstretched, his fingers squeezing shut as he grabbed at the air. “You can’t just stand there in my shirt and nothing else and expect me to wait for you to  _ eat _ .”

Alex paused and glanced over his shoulder. “But you expect me to come to you?”

The ensuing silence last maybe half a breath before Alex heard the blanket get tossed aside and Michael’s feet hit the floor. A second later Michael crowded him from behind, his fingers dipping under the hem of the shirt to grasp at Alex’s bare hips. “You’re a tease, Alex Manes,” he whispered in wonder. 

“Not my fault  _ someone _ ripped my shirt last night.”

“I promise to rip your shirts forever if it gets me this.” Michael kissed him just behind his ear.

“Don’t you dare,” Alex warned. He started to open the packaging on the granola bar only for Michael’s hands to come up and rest over his.

“Eat later.” He kissed Alex’s shoulder. “You’re leaving in a few hours,” he reminded him, as if Alex wasn’t also counting every minute.

Alex dropped the bar with a sigh and turned in Michael’s arms. “Fine. But we do actually have to eat at some point.”

Michael hummed and nodded even as he leaned forward to capture Alex’s lips. “Later.”

2.

“Alex.” Alex hummed questioningly without looking up from his computer. “Is that my jersey?”

“Hmm? No.” Alex still didn’t look up even though he’d already lost track of what he’d been doing. “It’s mine.”

“Oh yeah?” Michael slid onto the couch behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Is that why it says  _ Guerin _ on it?” 

Alex pretended to think about it. “Pure coincidence.”

Michael’s fingers dug into his ribs just enough to tickle. “You stole my jersey,” he accused. “I was looking everywhere for that.”

“First of all, I didn’t  _ steal _ anything. It was on my bedroom floor, therefore it’s mine.”

“Uhuh,” Michael said disbelieving. “And second of all?”

“Second of all,” Alex looked over his shoulder at him. “Are you really complaining about me having your name on me?”

“Nope. Nuhuh, not here, not now,” a new voice interjected. Alex rolled his eyes and looked over as Patrick sat down next to him. “Game’s about to start and I am not giving up my couch to you two.”

Michael’s head perked up as Patrick changed the channel just in time to see the Eagles kick off against the Dolphins. Instantly he shifted from boyfriend mode to fan mode, his grip on Alex’s waist going lax as he moved out from behind him to get a better look at the TV. 

Alex grabbed his computer and stood up with a shake of his head. “Go Fins,” he muttered, just to be contrary.

3.

“You realize we’re lost, right?” Alex let his head roll to the side to give Michael a scathing look.

“You realize that’s half the point of a road trip, right?” Michael shot back.

“Not if we’re in the middle of nowhere and almost out of gas!”

“Eh, we’ll be fine.”

“Geurin.”

“Just keep an eye out for a gas station.”

“An eye out, huh?” Alex flung a hand at the window. “At the fucking desert?! There’s nothing around us for miles.” He dropped his head against the seat and closed his eyes. Michael’s truck had a few redeeming features but good gas mileage and adequate air conditioning were not among them.

He cracked an eye open and looked over when Michael didn’t respond. Both of his hands were clenched tight on the wheel, his eyes flitting between the road and the dash in increasing frequency. “Hey,” he said softly. Michael didn’t react. “We’ll find a gas station.”

“I should have filled it all the way up before we left.” He shook his head. “I didn’t think it would be a problem.”

“It’s not,” Alex tried only for Michael to spare a glare at him. “Okay, fine, it might be a little bit of a problem, but we’ll deal with it.” He put his hand on Michael’s thigh and squeezed gently. “It’ll be fine.”

As Michael drove, Alex fished his phone out of his pocket. They hadn’t had any reception for the last hour but it couldn’t hurt to check. After another thirty minutes, the gas tank now firmly in the red, Alex’s phone beeped with a new message. He sat up and swiped away the text from Maria without bothering to look at it in his hurry to pull up Maps. “Aha!” He crowed. “Nearest gas station is 3.2 miles ahead.” 

The truck made it 2.3 miles before sputtering to a stop.

The two of them stared at the fuel gauge then at Alex’s phone before sighing. “Guess we’re walking it.” They got out without a word and walked the last mile to get gas just as the sun started to set. By the time they got back to the car, it was dark and Alex was feeling the chill in the air. As Michael filled the tank and made sure the truck was running okay, Alex dug around in his duffel bag until he found one of Michael’s flannels. For some reason, Michael tended to wear his flannels a little bit to big so Alex didn’t bother buttoning it up, he just tucked it in as he wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned against the door frame. 

Michael slid in the driver’s seat and paused. “Is that my shirt?”

“No,” Alex denied as he shifted to get more comfortable. “It’s one of my many many flannels.”

“Uh huh,” Michael smiled as he shifted the truck into drive. “Well  _ your _ flannel looks very comfortable.”

“Oh it is,” Alex agreed easily. He fell asleep soon after, waking up only when Michael pulled up to a cheap motel, the bright neon lights burning through his eyelids. That night, he didn’t bother changing for bed, opting instead to sleep in Michael’s shirt.

Two weeks later, when he was unpacking back on base, he found Michael’s shirt balled up at the bottom of his duffel.

He didn’t bother sending it back.

4.

Alex didn’t think too hard about which clothes he was grabbing when the knock came. He’d tried to ignore it at first but it didn’t stop. Eventually, he scooped up a pair of jeans from the floor and slid them on before grabbing his crutches and hurrying out into the main room. The jeans dragged on the floor a little bit but he didn’t pay it much mind.

“I’m coming!” He called as the knocking persisted. “Jesus Christ,  _ what _ ?” He yanked the door open, narrowly avoiding Liz’s fist in his face.

“I figured it out!” She yelled, her smile splitting her face wide. 

“What?”

“Max!” She half yelled, half laughed. “I figured it out!”

“What?” Michael asked as he came into the room, a towel wrapped around his waist and his skin still wet from the shower. 

“I can wake Max up!” This time it was more a laugh than a yell. “I need you and Isobel and about twelve hours to prep but then we should be good to go.” 

Michael’s face did a weird thing as he wavered between being ecstatic that Liz had figured it out and guarded against false hope. Alex watched the two emotions war on his face and turned to Liz. “That’s amazing, Liz. Just tell us what you need and you’ve got it.” 

Liz nodded profusely. “Yeah, yeah, it’s kind of a lot so I’ll text it all to you. I just- I just really needed to tell you and I didn’t want to do it over the phone or wait or-” She stopped and shook her head. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening.”

“Don’t apologize,” Alex told her. “This is good news. I’m glad you came out to tell us.” He looked her over with a careful eye. “When was the last time you slept?”

Liz waved a hand. “I’ll sleep later.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You think Max is gonna be happy to wake up to you dead on your feet? Get some sleep and then we’ll wake Max up. Text us what you need.”

It took a few more minutes but eventually Alex wrangled a promise to nap out of her and sent her on her way. As soon as the door shut behind her, he turned to face Michael who hadn’t said another word. “Michael?”

“Is it bad that I’m not happy yet?”

“Of course not. Nothing’s happened yet.”

Michael nodded slowly and rested his free hand on Alex’s hip as he stepped in close. His other hand still held his towel up on his waist. Alex stayed quiet as Michael took a few deep breaths, his mind obviously whirring with Liz’s news.

“I’m really upset with Liz right now.”

Alex lifted his head to stare at him. “Why?”

“Because you’re standing there in nothing but my jeans and all I can think about is Max.”

Alex looked down at the faded jeans hanging off of his hips, the hem just dragging on the ground. “What are you talking about? These are my jeans.”

Michael’s lips ticked upwards. “Liar.”

“I never lie,” Alex sniffed. “I’m a paragon of truth and virtue.”

“Paragon of sass and bullshit more like.” He nudged his nose against Alex’s as he leant their heads together. “12 hours?”

“That’s what she said,” Alex reached out slowly to grab Michael’s hand, careful not to dislodge his crutch. “Why don’t we get some sleep? Make the time go by faster.”

“I won’t be able to sleep.”

“That’s fine, just lay down with me while I sleep.” 

“Yeah, okay.” 

Michael fell asleep two hours later. Sixteen hours later he pulled his brother out of his pod and watched as he took his first breath in months.

5.

The loud crash of a stool slamming into the floor shocked the bar into silence. “Where is it?” Michael asked frantically. No one answered. “Who took it?!”

“Yo DeLuca! Stop cutting him off so early! He gets crazy,” some guy laughed in the corner. Michael held up his middle finger in response without bothering to look over. 

He leaned over the counter, puppy eyes out in full force. “Maria, light of my life, apple of my eye,” 

“Stow the shit, Guerin,” she cut him off.

“Where is it?” He continued as if she hadn’t said anything.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe try your boyfriend.”

Alex stifled a laugh as Michael frowned and practically crawled on top of the bar to check the space behind it as Maria walked away. 

“What is he looking for?” Kyle asked.

Alex shrugged, unwilling to answer. He watched as Michael searched around for another few seconds before turning to their table with a dejected look on his face.

“You!” He yelled as soon as he saw Alex, his finger pointed at him. “You stole it?!” 

“Wait, is this all about-” Kyle started to ask.

“Yes,” Alex answered, unable to hold back the laugh this time as Michael fell into the chair next to him. 

“You stole my hat,” he accused.

Alex reached a hand up to touch the brim of said hat. “This old thing? Nah, some idiot left it on the bar so I scooped it up. Finders keepers and whatnot.” He cocked his head to the side. “I think it suits me.”

Michael stared at him, hurt etched into every line in his face, before a smirk found its way onto his lips. “It’s alright.”

“Just alright?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

Michael hummed as he lifted the brim. He leaned in and kissed Alex lightly, pulling back just far enough to take him in. “Maybe a bit better than alright.”

Alex smirked and kissed him again, harder this time. 

“You know what would make it better?” Michael asked softly. Alex shook his head. “If you didn’t bother wearing anything else while you had it on,” he leaned forward and whispered into his ear. 

“Ew,” Kyle scoffed. “That was not nearly as quiet as you thought it was, dude.”

Alex really couldn’t care less. He stood up and tugged Michael after him as they escaped to the exits, the hat accomplishing exactly what he’d intended it to.

+1

Alex looked up from the letter as Michael pulled up outside. He dropped it onto the table and hurried into the bedroom as Michael’s footsteps crossed the deck out front. It only took a few seconds for him to find the shirt, he’d put it on top of everything in Michael’s drawer even though the other man refused to wear it yet.

“Alex?” Michael called when he came in. Alex didn’t answer as he pulled off his own shirt and tugged on Michael’s. “Alex?” Michael’s voice was closer now.

Alex tossed his own shirt into the hamper on his way back to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway when he caught sight of Michael, the letter in his hands as he stared at it.

“Congratulations, college boy,” Alex remarked quietly. Michael looked up at him slowly, his face frozen in surprise.

“This-” he looked down at the acceptance letter briefly before his eyes snapped back up to Alex. “You’re wearing my shirt.”

Alex looked down at the MIT logo emblazoned on his chest. “Well look at that, so I am.”

Michael dropped the letter and crossed the room. “That’s  _ my _ shirt.”

Alex smiled slowly. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

“I’m going to MIT.”

“You’re going to MIT,” Alex grinned, Michael’s lips finally spreading wide in a smile of his own.   
  


“I’m going to college!” Michael wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist and lifted until Alex’s feet dangled just off of the ground as he spun them in a circle. “I’m going to college,” he repeated, his voice a wonder even as Alex kissed him. 


End file.
